Tapas Brunch at The Oberoi Dubai

January 12, 2015

I realize I’ve been talking a lot about brunches. But then Friday Brunching is a ritual experience in Dubai for anybody who has a palate dipped in the flavors of the world and of course, some dirhams to flaunt. So trying out some of these brunches and recording my experience in words seem almost dutiful to me. Now that the justification part is done with, let me proceed to tell you about this magnificent brunch I had the privilege to enjoy few weeks back. A spread that was vibrant in its array of cuisines, techniques and creativity. A spread, now that I think of it, very well deserved the packed house it harbored at the Nine7One, The Oberoi Dubai.

The Tapas Brunch at Nine7One was fabulous for more reasons than one. Primarily, I fell in love with their perfect portion sizes (which is stating the obvious, it being a Tapas brunch, duh!). The servings were small yet good enough to let you determine if you would like to load it onto your plate or not. And that for me is a big deal, as I quite don’t appreciate the terrible food wastage that brunches bring about, even when all we want is to innocently get a taste of the spread! Anyhow, the team at Nine7One has got your back at this point. All the servings are adequately small, taking food wastage to a bare minimum.

The brunch begins with a look at The Tapas Chronicles, which gives you a list of the tapas that can be delivered to your table, along with the interesting options available from the bar counter. But oh, almost forgot, the immediate task at hand is to pick the package you prefer, namely- Soft beverage brunch (Aed 340), Cocktails and Prosecco brunch (Aed 475) or the Champagne brunch (Aed 625). The rates did strike me as rather high-end, but one look around the restaurant showed that the place was packed with buoyant brunches sipping on elegant bubblies. Yes, people in this part of the world take their brunches seriously!

We could choose 3 tapas per person for the table delivery. So between the husband and myself, we requested for the Milk fed veal and pumpkin, Apple and salsify, Squid ink rice and the Foie gras and granny smith apple. Presentation was gorgeousness. And to describe the taste…You can just about die for the veal, while you know that the foie gras was enough to bring you back to life! Ah, sweet memories to surrender to!

With my newfound love for Sushis, I contemplated camping at the Sushi station. The chef at the tempura counter proactively engaged me in a quick tempura-making class, as I fought my inner battle to load more Maki rolls onto my plate, or to head to the umpteen other counters. Cute little glass bottles displayed Gazpachos, while Thai rice paper rolls, smoked sea bass terrine, Togarashi wrapped tuna and vegetable tartines waited in competitive splendor.

A little ahead, we stepped into familiar territories with the aromas and spices challenging onlookers for a game of Chaat. The bhel puris were served on cornettos while the dahi kachoris were a visual treat with splashes of red and white on crispy yellow puris. When you think tapas, what better Indian version to demonstrate than the street side chaats? Further, we took a pit stop at the Cheese Fondue station, where the Raclette grill over new potatoes stole my heart in a flash. Melted cheese oozing out to fall over the potatoes was a sight to treasure. After stopping to pick up some lamb kofta with cheese, grilled halloumi, Cajun spiced fish croquettes and some groovy looking grills, we returned to our seats.

Once the hunger pangs were temporarily quelled, we decided to scamper back to the one station that completely had half the brunching populace jumping up and down like children eagerly waiting for the magician to begin his tricks. Molecular Gastronomy, in other words, the Foodlover’s DisneyLand, where magic flowed through expert hands in the form of Liquid Nitrogen, to create some fantastic treats! As we watched, the brilliant Chef Sheldo Winoto played with the element to produce a deconstructed crème brulee and a passionfruit pop, that made us gasp in delight as we blew out ice cold smoke through our ears and nostrils. A treat, both visually and appetizingly, this splendid addition made the entire brunch experience a fun adventure. I mean, why wouldn’t you enjoy blowing smoke through your nose and ears? Literally!

It was pretty much a brilliant brunch experience, counting the gorgeous proseccos, delicious tapas, the Raclette grill, the decadent desserts and the wonderfully festive ambience that was created with the huge advent calendar and the little Santas hidden around the counter tables. All along, my only regret was that my baby girl was too young to attend and enjoy the complimentary baking class for children that was happening in the kitchen attached to the brunch hall. Such a pleasure it was to see the little ones scuttle around with flour dust smeared all over their aprons! But I must admit, it was even more pleasurable to just hang around the Molecular gastronomy station, watching middle-aged brunchers excitedly demand “Give me one of those!” and “I want what she is having!” to a very calm magician in a Chef Hat!! Three cheers to fantastic tapas presentation, perfect portion size, efficient, engaging staff behavior and of course, beautiful, beautiful food. In the end, that’s what matters, isn’t it?

FoodKissed was invited to experience the Tapas Brunch at Nine7One, The Oberoi Dubai. All the contents in this post are my personal opinion, which I can assure you, are honest and unbiased. Thank you for kindly stopping by! 🙂

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Neenu Sajin

A walking epitome of food-lust, permanently craving for chicken, cheese & chocolates of all and every form. A marketing and content writing professional living in Dubai with my husband, who has learnt to be the perfect side-kick in food explorations around the world. If you find me raiding the fridge at ungodly hours, I'm just inspiring my tummy.